Making your own pumpkin spice brown sugar syrup at home is super easy, and uses simple ingredients you likely already have in your pantry! You can use this syrup to make pumpkin spice lattes (with or without the pumpkin puree), or you can use this on pancakes and waffles.
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If you love all things pumpkin spice, you’re going to enjoy our Starbucks copycat recipe! Our homemade version is a caramel-y brown sugar syrup with cozy pumpkin pie spices and vanilla.
This syrup is perfect for adding that warm pumpkin spice flavor to your morning coffee, lattes, or even pancakes without actually adding pumpkin (unless you want to!).
It’s super easy to make this syrup at home with just a few simple ingredients, and you can have instant PSLs whenever you like. Plus this recipe will make your kitchen smell delicious!
Why we love our pumpkin spice syrup
Because this syrup is homemade, you can customize how much or how little spice is in your syrup! If you like bold spice, you can add extra spice to this syrup.
Our syrup is really versatile as well. This would be delicious with chai lattes, boba teas, lapsang souchong tea, and more. You can also add this on top of pancakes, french toast, or waffles as well!
We also have a recipe for sugar free pumpkin spice creamer as well if you’re looking for a low/no sugar option!
How to make pumpkin spice brown sugar syrup
It’s super easy to make this spiced brown sugar syrup! We create a brown sugar simple syrup and after it’s done cooking, we’ll add in our spices (it tastes better adding the spices after cooking).
This pumpkin spice syrup is just the pumpkin spice and doesn’t actually have pumpkin puree in it. You can add some pumpkin to your lattes if you want, but you don’t have to. I add some notes below for making your pumpkin spice lattes with or without the pumpkin puree.
Here are the steps for making our syrup. This is just an overview, the full recipe card is at the end of the post.
- Add the brown sugar, water, and cream of tartar to a small 1-2 quart saucepan. Whisk everything together and cook over medium-low to medium heat until it begins to simmer, whisking regularly.
- If you want less of a brown sugar taste, you can use half brown sugar and half regular white sugar in this recipe.
- Once the syrup begins to simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook at a low simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Remove the syrup from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, spices, and the pinch of salt.
- We used 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice in this syrup, but you can adjust the ratio of spices in this recipe if you prefer more cinnamon and less pumpkin pie spice, or vise versa.
- Allow to cool completely, then add to a jar or airtight container and store in the fridge for several weeks.
- The spices will want to settle in the syrup, so give this a stir before you pour out the syrup you need for your drinks.
The cream of tartar is optional in this recipe, we add it to help prevent a lot of sugar crystals from forming in the syrup in the fridge. If you don’t have cream of tartar, your syrup will just form crystals in the jar over time, which won’t affect the taste of the syrup.
Why is there salt in this syrup?
Salt is a natural flavor enhancer and it helps to combat “flat” tasting baked goods and sweets. Adding a small pinch of salt to this syrup helped enhance the spice flavors a little bit.
The small pinch of salt in this recipe is enough to enhance the flavors, but not enough to make this syrup taste salty.
How to make dairy free pumpkin spice lattes with this syrup
To use this syrup to make oatmilk pumpkin spice lattes, you’ll just need to add 2-3 Tablespoons of syrup to an 8-12 ounce latte or coffee with unsweetened oatmilk (or other dairy free milk).
Make sure that if you are using this syrup, the dairy free creamer or milk you add to your coffee is unsweetened, otherwise your drink will be overly sweet.
If you want pumpkin flavor in your latte, too, you can add 1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin puree and whisk it in. I personally prefer the taste of just the syrup in my coffee without the pumpkin puree, but you can add some if you love it.
Start with a little bit of pumpkin puree (1 teaspoon) and add more to taste if you like. Remember, you can always add more of an ingredient to your food, but you can’t take it out if you’ve added too much, so I always err on the side of too little to start.
Check out our other Starbucks copycat syrup recipes!
- Apple Chai Syrup (and Apple Crisp Chai Lattes)
- Homemade Chai Syrup
- Apple Brown Sugar Syrup
- Homemade Gingerbread Syrup (and Gingerbread Chai Latte)
Homemade Pumpkin Spice Brown Sugar Syrup
Ingredients
- 2 cups packed light brown sugar*
- 1 cup water
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar (helps prevent sugar crystals)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice blend
- pinch salt
Equipment
- 1.5 quart saucepan
Instructions
- Add the brown sugar, water, and cream of tartar to a small saucepan.
- Whisk together and heat over medium heat until it begins to simmer.
- Reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (try not to scrape down the sides too much).
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and the pinch of salt. You can always adjust the amount of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice to suit your tastes.
- Allow to cool completely, then transfer to a jar or bottle and store at room temperature or in the fridge. This should last for several weeks in the fridge.
- The spices may tend to settle in the jar, so stir the syrup before pouring into your drinks.
Notes
Nutrition
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Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie which she founded in 2011. Sarah is based in Wyoming and has been managing food allergies for herself and her 2 children for over 20 years. Sarah was also a certified personal trainer for 12 years, as well as a group fitness instructor, health coach, running coach, and fitness nutrition specialist.